Description
While the development of craft is essential, excellent literary work often doesn’t see the light of day because of errors during the submission process. A. J. Bermudez will demystify this process from both the writing and the publication sides to empower writers as they engage in the nuances of submission and publication.
We’ll learn how to prepare, format, submit, organize, and track our work for publication. We’ll cover key submission resources, platforms, documentation (cover letters, resumés, bios, artist statements), custom spreadsheets, and etiquette for addressing journal editors to effectively get our work published.
We’ll leave the session with clear, actionable takeaways, including
- Toolkit for submitting work to literary journals and publishers and for awards
- Essential grasp of core submission materials and communication strategies
- Strong command of how to build a personal submission database and optimize publication results
About A. J. Bermudez
A. J. Bermudez is an award-winning author and filmmaker based in Los Angeles and New York. Her first book, Stories No One Hopes Are About Them, won the 2022 Iowa Short Fiction Award and was a 2023 Lambda Award Finalist. Her most recent feature film, My Dead Friend Zoe (cowritten with director Kyle Hausmann-Stokes and starring Sonequa Martin-Green, Natalie Morales, Ed Harris, and Morgan Freeman), premiered at SXSW and won the 2024 Narrative Spotlight Audience Award. Her work has been featured at Sundance, the Yale Center for British Art, and the LGBT Toronto Film Festival, and in a number of literary publications, including The Kenyon Review, Virginia Quarterly Review, McSweeney’s, Chicago Quarterly Review, Story, Boulevard, Creative Nonfiction, Electric Literature, The Masters Review, Columbia Journal, LitHub, and elsewhere. She is a recipient of the Diverse Voices Award, the PAGE Award, and the Alpine Fellowship Writing Prize, and has been named one of the ISA’s Top 25 Writers to Watch. Her work has received support from the Banff Centre, Montalvo Arts Center, and the Cultural Association of Morocco. Bermudez is also a former boxer and EMT, and her work gravitates toward contemporary explorations of power, privilege, and place.
